(Video is after the jump.)
This Sunday at UFC Fight Night 38 in Brazil, Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua will meet in a rematch of one of the greatest fights in UFC history. Their first bout went down back in November 2011 at UFC 139, and featured five rounds of mutual abuse that was more like a two-man demolition derby than a professional MMA fight. In the end, Hendo earned a unanimous decision with 48-47 scores from all three judges — although it would have been a different story if the fight was scored under Stockton Rules.
It might be overly optimistic to think that these two living legends could produce a sequel that rivals their first meeting, especially when you consider that Hendo is now 43 years old, has gone winless since the first Shogun fight, and may already be considering the end of his career. The only thing Sunday’s fight will determine is which guy gets to keep plugging away a little longer. To call it “the most anticipated rematch in UFC history” is laughably inaccurate.
Still, if you’ve been a fan of Henderson and Shogun’s long, decorated careers — and if you consider yourself an MMA fan, it’s pretty likely that you idolized at least one of these guys at some point — it’s not a bad free fight for a Sunday evening. Check out their epic first match below and shoot us your predictions for Shogun vs. Henderson 2 in the comments section.
(Henderson vs. Shogun full fight video. Props: UFC.com via MMAWeekly)